


Water Shorts

by sidana



Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 14:36:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16477400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidana/pseuds/sidana
Summary: Another PdS monthly drabble contestTheme: water





	Water Shorts

Disclaimer: not my characters, not my universe, I'll put everyone back where I found them when I'm done with them

 

******************

Sampson sighed as he slid into the tub that was considered to be large for the humans, but was far too small for his kinds' needs. The river that flowed through the city that should have been his refuge had long ago become too polluted for his kind to enjoy swimming in. Then when he went out in the city, it taunted him, its beauty just out of his reach.

To his frustration, Anita was the same way. There had been a promise, a tease of a different beauty, but nothing concrete he could touch.

He wanted to go home.

*****************

Anita carefully drew the water down from the goldfish’s bowl, replacing it with clean water. It was funny how she had actually come to miss the maintenance tasks she had hated when she’d had her old big tank with the angelfish.

It had taken her a long time to feel like she could replace the angelfish, to bring something so vulnerable into a home that had been invaded so many times. But recently, she had begun to feel her home was turning into a safe haven for everyone for real.

She was glad she could clean the damn bowl again.

****************

“So what will you have, sweetie?” the waitress asked Jason.

“I’ll have the grilled chicken sandwich, no mayo, and French fries.” He wasn’t on stage tonight, so he could go for the fries at least.

“And to drink?”

He longingly went down the other side of the diner menu: root beer float, chocolate-peanut butter malt, banana cream pie shake…

“Glass of water, please.”

He didn’t feel like spending an extra hour at the gym, and ice cream meant that he would have had to. Even though he loved his job, he had to admit there were down sides to it.

******************

Nathaniel carefully braided the sum of his hair, making sure that no wisps of it escaped from the braid. He then pulled the braid toward his head, wrapping it in a tight spiral around the back of his skull. It was secured in place by a couple of hair clips Vivian had given him. After that, the hair was carefully tucked into a shower cap tight enough to keep the spray out as he showered.

For all that it seemed to be a complex process, it was still easier than the days he had to wash and dry his hair.

****************

 

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Gwen said, steering Sylvie into the shower. Sylvie was crying, something she couldn’t do in front of anyone other than Gwen.

“But I kept them safe. It was worth it.”

“You did. You took care of your people.” And what Sylvie was willing to sacrifice for them made Gwen love her even more.

So now Gwen did what she could to care for her. Careful to not jostle the bruises, she moved Sylvie around in the water, letting it wash away blood, tears, and everything else until she was cleansed of the evil she took into herself.

**************

 

As he stretched out in his beach chair sipping a beer, Haven watched the girls in bright bikinis walk along the soft sand of the Bahaman beach, their feet splashing the water as they did. He caught the eye of one of the pretty girls, offering her a mock toast. She laughed and licked her lips.

He got to spend another fourteen days here at one of the nicest resorts in the islands, all of it on Augustine’s dime. Meanwhile, back in Chicago it was supposed to be ten below and snowing.

Whoever said crime didn’t pay was an idiot.

********************

Because it was flu season, Cherry made an automatic turn into the bathroom just after she walked back into her house. Turning the water on, she ducked her hands under the faucet, then grabbed the bar of soap. After scrubbing away for thirty seconds, she rinsed and dried her hands before walking into the living room to greet Zane.

She knew it was something she didn’t have to do anymore. She wasn’t going to get sick, and she didn’t have to worry about Zane getting sick either. But not washing her hands would be another admission of her lost humanity.


End file.
